Haywire (ExOS)
Haywire is the third episode of Ben 10: ExOS. Alternatively, Ben 10 (2005), Season 5, Episode 3. Synopsis Cooper has been kidnapped by a mysterious figure, and it's up to Ben, Gwen, and Kevin to track him down. Plot 'Cold Open' panning fade into a workshop with various machines going off, a familiar blonde boy working on some sort of robotic arm contraption. COOPER DANIELS: '''Alright…focus… ''eyes glow blue as he begins to move his hand. The robotic arm begins to move with it.'' '''COOPER: It’s...it’s working! soon short-circuits with a puff of smoke and powers down. Cooper lets out a sigh. COOPER: Aw, man. I’m never gonna get this right. a laser is seen cutting through the wall, the cut section of the wall falls down, revealing a shadowy figure with a female voice. COOPER (Scared): Who...who are you? VOICE: '''That’s not important. Word on the street is, you’re some kind of technopathetic whizz kid. Maybe you can be of some help to me, punk. You’re coming with me. ''figure grabs the stunned Cooper by the neck of his shirt and leaves.'' ''INTRO'' '''Act One to the next day, Ben, Kevin and Gwen are fighting the Limax that was taking the position of Cash earlier. blasts magical energy at the Limax, but it dodges. GWEN: '''Ben, a little help here? ''is attempting to use the Omnitrix, slamming repeatedly on a blue lizard form.'' '''BEN: '''Sorry, this thing’s on the fritz again! '''GWEN: '''Has Grey Matter been messing with it again? ''a flash of green static envelopes the watch, before transforming Ben into a familiar rocky fire being.'' '''HEATBLAST: '''Seriously?! The freeze-lizard would have been better. ''Limax seems to get stronger just in the presence of Heatblast, as it slowly overpowers Kevin.'' '''GWEN: '''Too bad you don’t have a cold. '''HEATBLAST: '''Wait...that’s not a bad idea. '''GWEN: '''What? Are you serious?! '''HEATBLAST: '''Just do it! '''GWEN: '''Alright… ''prepares a spell…'' '''GWEN: Vira...Humana! spell causes the target to develop a cold, which, when applied to Heatblast, transforms him into an ice alien. All of his yellow fire is replaced by swirling blue. HEATBLAST (Congested): '''Alright, Kevin, fire it up! ''and Heatblast fire an ice beam and a flame blast together in one beam, defeating and effectively melting the Limax.'' '''GWEN: '''Huh... Didn’t expect that to actually work. But now you’re sick. ''wheezes heavily.'' '''HEATBLAST: It’s...alright. I’ve endured worse. with a beep and a crackle, through the Omnitrix, comes the voice of an elderly male. VOICE (Panicked): '''Attention, All Plumbers in the area; Cooper Daniels has gone missing, I repeat, Cooper Daniels has gone missing! Code Amber, Code Amber! ''detransforms.'' '''BEN: I…''sniff...know that voice. That’s Buck Daniels, Cooper’s Grandpa. '''GWEN: '''Cooper’s in trouble? Let’s go. But, uh...what do we do about Kevin? '''KEVIN 11:' Hold it, I’ve got an idea. pulls out an ID Mask from his back pocket, the same one he used earlier. KEVIN 11: I’ve been figuring out how to work this thing, check it. puts the mask on, and becomes a human version of himself...well, mostly. He appears to be a little bit malformed. KEVIN: It’s not perfect, but it’ll have to do. BEN: '''Fair enough, I guess. Come on. ''crew then finds themselves at Cooper’s workshop. Kevin observes the giant hole in the wall.'' '''KEVIN: Gonna go on a limb here and say that wasn’t here before. and Gwen are looking around the warehouse, trying to see if they can find anything. KEVIN: '''So, who’s this Cooper guy anyways? '''BEN: sniff ''...Cooper’s a skilled technopath. He can telekinetically disassemble and reassemble any technology in a snap. Helped us when we faced against this league of villains. '''KEVIN:' Wait, there was a league of villains and I wasn’t invited? folds his arms. KEVIN: I’m insulted. steps into the warehouse. KEVIN: 'Can’t you just use Wildmutt, like you did at the docks? '''BEN: '''That’s…coughs''...kind of a bad idea. I’m essentially blind when I use him when I’m sick like this. '''KEVIN: Well, you’re useless for now. What about Gwen? eyes glow blue, as she picks up a tool Cooper was using. GWEN: '''Already on it. Using a tracking spell that should reveal where he is...but it’ll take a while. ''looks around, before coming across a computer. He then looks to his left, where he notices a video camera.'' '''KEVIN: Might wanna hold off...I think I just found something. and Gwen walk over as Kevin turns on the computer, and finds some recording application. KEVIN: Kid’s smart for recording himself. Probably for test runs or something. check through the recordings, looking for one that might show what happened. BEN: Alright…''coughs...the date on this one is yesterday, speed it up. 'presses a button to speed the footage up, hours of video go by in seconds, but he suddenly stops.' '''KEVIN: '''Hold up, this looks interesting. 'footage shows Cooper, back turned to the camera, building something, after a few moments, he raises his arm, with a purple and yellow colored makeshift device on his wrist.' '''COOPER: '''Alright, let’s go….Firewall! 'slaps the top of the false device, revealing it to be a fake Omnitrix, Cooper then starts throwing his hands around and making cheesy blasting sounds.' '''COOPER: '''Pchoo, Pchoo! Take that, Vilgax! 'laughs' '''KEVIN:' Oh man, this guy. Hey Ben, Coop-nerd here is gonna give you a run for your money. BEN: '''Shut up, and keep looking through the footage. ''speed the footage up again, stopping close to the end of the file, in the middle of the night. The same figure is shown busting through the wall and kidnapping Cooper.'' '''KEVIN: Can’t see nothing. It’d help if the kid had more lights around. GWEN: Wait, what was that? about two frames, a large part of the figure’s body is visible, enough to make out half of an insignia on the chest. BEN: Wait...guys, sniff ''I recognize that symbol. I know who we’re looking for. '''GWEN and KEVIN: '''Who? '''BEN:' Rojo. coughs 'Act Two' KEVIN: '''Okay...mind getting me up to speed? I have no idea who that is. '''GWEN: Her real name is Joey Harley, but ever since the time one of Vilgax’s drones fused with her, she’s gone by Rojo. BEN: She was also…''cough...part of that league of villains I mentioned earlier. She had some new tech armor or something. '''KEVIN:' Well, if this chick has some high-tech armor, and this Cooper is good with tech… GWEN: '''...Then she’s going to use him to upgrade her armor! '''KEVIN: '''Exactly. '''BEN: '''Then we better get to figuring out where she took him. The sooner we find her, the better chance Cooper hasn’t finished that armor yet. '''GWEN: And I think I may be able to help. puts down the tool she was scanning earlier. GWEN: '''They’re in a scrapyard, downtown. ''to the junkyard. Cooper is strapped to a makeshift table, while Rojo is preparing something.'' '''COOPER: Look, I’m not gonna upgrade your stupid armor. You trashed my lab! You’re lucky you didn’t break something important. ROJO: Heh. I kinda figured you’d be against the idea, kid. Thankfully, I have some...persuasion. COOPER: And what’s that? holds up a small patch, with red Mechamorph looking circuitry on it. COOPER: W-what’s that? ROJO: Persuasion. Some alien virus I got off of a special market. Not that I bought it or anything. walks towards Cooper, who struggles in his predicament. She applies the patch onto Cooper’s neck, and his eyes suddenly turn from blue to red… to the team standing outside of the Junkyard. Kevin is no longer wearing the mask. GWEN: This is the place. KEVIN 11: Junkyard, huh? Classic. I remember a time where I lived in a junkyard. Surprisingly fun if you’re someone like me. People dumped all kinds of stuff back in New York. One time I tried to build a car out of some of it. That didn’t go well. GWEN: '''You? Driving? That’s a scary thought. '''BEN: '''Guys, shhh, I hear something. ''out of the shadows, something appears. It’s Cooper—but cables and wires all attached to his body. His face is cold and emotionless.'' '''BEN: COOPER!...Coop? Whoa. What happened to you? COOPER (Robotically): Oh. Hello. Ben. KEVIN 11: Is he...always this way? COOPER: It’s. The. Way. Mistress. Rojo. Programmed. Me. BEN: Back up a second there...Mistress Rojo? COOPER: Of. Course. She. Is. Wonderful. scratches his chin, before noticing something strange on Cooper’s neck. KEVIN 11: Hey, Ben...you may not be the only one here with a virus in you. Look. takes a closer look, notices the chip. BEN: Another gift from your “mistress”? Mind if we see her? eyes start to glow a menacing red. Some of the metal around Cooper starts to move closer and closer. His tentacle cables start to lift him off the ground. COOPER: The. Mistress. Is. Gone. Either. Way I. Cannot. Let. You. See. Her. rolls up his sleeve, activates the Omnitrix. BEN: sniff... I’m gonna get you out of this, Coop. Hang on! [TRANSFORMATION: Ben’s hands lock into a claw shape, his fingers disappearing as his skin is covered by a shiny dark orange shell. The camera comes around to his face, zooming into his head. His brain is shown, growing several times in size, then a spark of electricity blinds the screen. It changes to his back, his shoulders climbing up to the sides of his head. He leans forward as his legs morph from two to six. The shot changes to the Omnitrix, shining briefly, before moving up to reveal two beady yellow eyes. Finally, it zooms out as the crab-like form strikes a pose, the top of his head parting in two, revealing the large brain, spewing electricity.] KEVIN 11: And how is some seafood platter gonna get him out of this? BRAINSTORM: '''I’ll have you know that this form is most capable of getting Cooper out of this predicament, Kevin Ethan Levin. '''GWEN: '''Ooh, he full named you. '''BRAINSTORM: '''You two need to hold him off, as I must assess the situation. '''KEVIN 11: '''WHAT?! '''BRAINSTORM: Kevin, my cranium is aching. I need time to reach a form of zen to better assess my situation. KEVIN 11: '''So what? The seafood platter is an overgrown Grey Matter? '''BRAINSTORM: '''You shall see, just do it, post-haste! ''rises from the floor, supported by a mess of cables and other strange mechanisms. He fires a cable at Kevin’s legs, pulling him to the floor and dragging him away.'' '''GWEN: '''I’ve got it!... ''produces a kind of heat laser from her hand that slices through the cables. It cuts to Brainstorm scanning the area for a way to defeat Cooper.'' ''BRAINSTORM (Thinking): While an apt tactical maneuver, removing Kevin from the battle exposes a great weakness in this mechanical cacophony he has encased himself in. The masses of cables could be cut through...but they would likely need to be cut all at one time to properly disable the mechanism…'' ''is seen swinging around Kevin and Gwen in the background while Brainstorm figures out a plan.'' '''KEVIN 11: '''ANY TIME NOW, TENNYSON! '''BRAINSTORM: '''I AM TRYING TO CONCENTRATE! ''unknowingly lets off a random burst of electricity right into Kevin, which causes Cooper to let him go.'' '''KEVIN 11 (Groaning): ...Thanks. Kevin gets up, he feels a spark. A spark he hasn’t felt in a long time. KEVIN 11: '''Hey, wait a minute...I...I’m feeling...something. ''slowly realizes what happened, sparks flying from his fingers. Kevin laughs.'' '''KEVIN 11: '''I don’t know what you did, Tennyson, but I haven’t been able to do this in years! It’s like I got my old powers back! '''BRAINSTORM: Oh, that will be extremely useful, as I have a plan. I require you to seize one of those forklifts over there, while I commandeer the other one. Gwendolyn has to distract Cooper, perhaps restraining him, then you and I align the forklifts, and send them directly into the cable monstrosity. KEVIN 11: Gwen holds him down and we slice the cables? BRAINSTORM: If you want to dumb it down, then certainly. to Gwen, she’s free from Cooper’s cables. BRAINSTORM: Gwendolyn! Restrain him in the center of the room! GWEN: On it! runs over, waving her arms. GWEN: HEY COOPER! OVER HERE! turns around, looking angered. He then dashes toward the center of the room. Gwen prepares a spell. GWEN: ''...Kapelli...SCHMEL’ZE!'' part of the cable mass melts to the floor, leaving Cooper stuck to the ground, struggling to regain control of his machine. BRAINSTORM: Alright, Kevin, on three! KEVIN 11: One… BRAINSTORM: '''Two… '''BOTH: '''THREE! ''and Kevin immediately start their forklifts on a collision course with Cooper’s cable mass. Both of them bail from the forklifts quickly, a loud crunch is heard as the cables are sliced by the two forklifts.'' '''COOPER: '''AGH! ''collapses to the floor, his cable mass cut down to size and squirming. Ben times out.'' 'BEN: '''He’s gonna be out cold for a bit…coughs''...can you guys get him back to safety? '''KEVIN 11: Yeah, sure, leave us with the boring part. And what are you gonna do, Tennyson? Omnitrix beeps, there’s a sudden green flash. XLR8: I’m going after Rojo. speeds off. 'Act Three' opens to XLR8 running down the highway, weaving between the cars. XLR8 (Thinking): Okay, if I were Rojo, where would I be...she can’t be too far from here, it’s not like she can…'' ''then speeds by using the new rocket boosters installed on her suit, she flies in front of XLR8. XLR8 (Thinking):' ...fly. ROJO: Well, if it isn’t the brat with the watch. Like the new upgrades? I gotta say, the punk’s good with the tech. How about another demonstration? 'fires an EMP Blast that hits XLR8, causing him to lose control and spin out, giving Rojo with a massive lead. She’s headed toward the city. XLR8 crashes into a wall. XLR8 (Dazed): Ohhh….I’m gonna feel that one tomorrow. does his best to try and catch up to her, the shot pans to the nearby city. to a shot within the city. We see people walking, going about their day, when Rojo speeds by, causing the bystanders to cower as the camera shakes a little. It’s followed by a blur of black and blue along the ground. The onlookers give off a confused look. ROJO: '''You can’t stop me now, Tennyson! '''XLR8: '''Try me. ''rotates around, flying forwards but facing backwards. Panels on her wrists come up revealing rocket launchers.'' '''ROJO: Time to say goodbye, kid! veers to the left and dodges the rockets, Rojo spins back around to the right direction. XLR8 (Thinking): Gotta think quick, gotta think quick, what to do, what to do… spots a motorcycle in the distance, coming up fast. XLR8: Here goes nothing… speeds in the direction of the motorcycle, as he prepares to smack the face of the watch on his chest. Seconds before he crashes into it, he immediately smacks the Omnitrix, transforming into a blobulous black and white form with green stripes. This form impacts with the bike, and fuses with it. UPGRADE: '''Alright! Let’s do this thing! ''rockets the bike forward at top speed, using some jet boosters of his own, and catches up to Rojo in no time.'' ''fires a huge laser from the front of the bike, Rojo weaves to either side.'' '''ROJO: '''You’re gonna have to do better than that to beat me, kid! '''UPGRADE: Oh, yeah?! Watch this! increased his speed as he drove toward a ramp, and jumps off. He lets go of the bike and flies forward. The bike slams into Rojo’s and the two explode on impact. Rojo looks angered. ROJO: My bike! UPGRADE (Sarcastically): Whoops. stops flying, turns around, and grabs Upgrade by what would be a shirt collar. ROJO: You’ll pay for that! UPGRADE: Sorry, I don’t have that kind of money. partially fuses with her suit, attempting to neutralize it. UPGRADE: You, on the other hand, will have to make it up in prison. ROJO: 'Why you little... '''UPGRADE: '''Hang here until the police arrive. '''ROJO: '“Sorry”, but I don’t have that kind of time, kid. I’ve learned from your little tricks. ''suit lets off an EMP blast that forces Upgrade to let go, leaving him convulsing on the ground. Rojo runs away.'' ''Omnitrix times out. Ben lets out a groan as he sees Rojo running down the street. He tries to run after her, but he’s still sick.'' 'BEN: '''You’re not …coughs''...going anywhere until Cooper is okay… ''Beat'' '''BEN: Oh, man... cut back to Cooper’s home, where a disappointed Ben entered inside. Ben sneezed. KEVIN 11: '''Oh great, Patient 10 is back. '''BEN: '''I couldn’t stop Rojo… and we don’t even know how to save Cooper... '''GWEN: Actually, you might be wrong there. BEN: '''Huh? '''KEVIN 11: '''Quit worrying so much, the kid’s alright. I was able to sap all of the power out of that thing on his neck. Fell right off. '''BEN: H-how? KEVIN 11: It’s probably best you don’t know all the details. GWEN: But he’s okay. That’s all that matters now. But he’ll probably wake up with a little headache. groaned and slowly started to wake up. Cooper held onto his head. GWEN: '''Hey, Coop. '''COOPER: Ben, Gwen? It’s great to see you! But uh, who’s the monster? KEVIN 11: '''Why you snobby little… '''BEN: '''This is our friend, Kevin. ''took notice to this, but looked away.'' '''COOPER: '''Oh. What are you guys doing in my room? '''BEN: It’s kind of a long story. GWEN: But more importantly, are you okay? COOPER: Aside from the massive migraine, I’m absolutely fine. Wait a minute… Where’s that crazy armored lady? She broke into my lab and- KEVIN 11: She’s gone. BEN: We had a run-in with her and she got away. She also turned you into some cybernetic monster. COOPER: '''Monster? No way. '''KEVIN 11: Yep, it was like something straight out of the comics. GWEN: '''But you’re okay now, that’s all that counts. '''BEN: '''But we need to talk to you about something important. The other reason why we’re here. ''face turned from curious to serious.'' '''BEN: '''A group of alien shapeshifters known as the Limax are planning to invade the earth. They capture humans and assume their place, who knows who they’ve already gotten to? They may have tons of warships ready, considering we already took down one just a couple days ago. '''GWEN: '''Our Grandpa went missing and we’re assuming he’s left to investigate what’s going on. He also left us some notes, telling us to build a team to fight off the oncoming invasion. We’re in pretty deep, but we can’t figure out how to stop them quite yet. We need your help. '''COOPER: '''What?! '''BEN: Can we count on you? looked at them with hesitation. COOPER: '''Aliens, an invasion… Geez, I don’t know... '''GWEN: '''You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. '''KEVIN 11: Unless you wanna be trapped in some containment egg pod...thing for the rest of your life. If you know what’s good for you. BEN: '''Please. '''COOPER: Hey, if my Grandpa went missing, I wouldn’t know what to do myself either. But since you guys need me, I’ll be happy to help. Whatever you need. GWEN: '''Thank you, Cooper. '''COOPER: Now, If you’ll excuse me, I gotta get back to work. KEVIN 11: That kid either has some brains or is probably the dumbest person on the planet…next to Benji here. lets out a chuckle, but Gwen cuts him off elbowing him in the side. KEVIN 11: Ow. BEN: In the meantime, we better figure out who we should next recruit. Gwen, and Kevin start heading out of the building. GWEN: Actually, I kinda had an idea about that. shot fades to a run-down apartment complex, Rojo is seen shambling up to a door labeled “B-8”. She walks inside, slamming the door open. OFFSCREEN VOICE: Hey Ro, how’d it go? ROJO: '''Eh, not so good Kelly. That punk got me again. As you can probably tell, my armor’s kinda wrecked. It’s gonna take me weeks to fix… ''short blue-haired woman is seen sitting on a couch.'' '''KELLY: '''I was watching you on the news, you looked great out there...I mean, uh… '''ROJO: '''Heh, thanks Kel, I just...I don’t know, maybe I should give up the whole “Rojo” shtick. I don’t even know why I try going after that kid anymore, it’s just this weird impulse. '''KELLY: '''It’s revenge for what he did to you, remember? '''ROJO: I guess. sighs, upset. KELLY: Wait here, I’ve got a surprise for you. ROJO: '''Alright… ''runs into the other room, the shot changes back to Rojo slumped on a couch. Suddenly, there’s a lot of loud, clattering noise. Rojo gets startled.'' '''ROJO: Uh, you okay in there, Kel? KELLY: '''Yeah, just a minute! ''few moments later, clanking footsteps are heard heading back to the main room. The shot shows her feet. The camera pans up as she speaks.'' '''KELLY: '''Joey Harley, meet your new partner: Kelly Axel. ''it pans up, it’s revealed that Kelly has built her own armor suit. It resembles Rojo’s, but blue themed. She raises a gun from her arm as the camera meets her now helmet-adorned head.'' '''KELLY: '''Just call me “Axzul”. ''shot changes to Rojo, looking on in bewilderment, her expression changes to a smile, then an evil smirk. The shot fades to black.'' ''CREDITS'' Major Events * Cooper Daniels and Joey "Rojo" Harley make their ExOS debuts. * Heatblast, XLR8, and Upgrade make their ExOS debut. * Brainstorm debuts as a new alien. * Kevin regains a fraction of his original energy absorption powers. * Kelly "Axzul" Axel makes her first appearance. Characters *Ben Tennyson *Gwen Tennyson *Kevin 11 *Cooper Daniels (First Reappearance) *Buck Daniels (Cameo, Voice Only) '''Villains *Joey "Rojo" Harley (First Reappearance) *Cooper Daniels (Temporarily) *Kelly "Axzul" Axel (First Appearance) Aliens Used *Heatblast (First Reappearance) *Brainstorm (First Appearance) *XLR8 (First Reappearance) *Upgrade (First Reappearance) Trivia * A teaser for the episode was released on February 23rd, 2019, revealing a release date of March 8th for the episode, alongside a new episode of E-10: Horizons. * Ben gets a cold that affects his aliens, much like Season 1, Episode 12 of Ben 10 (2005), Side Effects. * The title of this episode is a reference to the 2012 Bandai line of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien palette swap figures under the label of "Haywire". *Rojo's last name, given to her in this series, is a double reference. There is a brand of motorcycle known as a "Harley ", and both the names "Joey" and "Harley" are used for characters from the Homestuck /Hiveswap universe. *Rojo's term, "Technopathetic" is a reference to a song called "Teknopathetic " from the soundtrack to the Sega game, Jet Set Radio Future. *Several previous episodes are referenced directly, such as "The Alliance ", "Side Effects ",'' "Ben 10 vs. Negative 10 ", and ''"Hello Again, Ben 10: Part 2 ". *A couple of Ben's lines of dialogue, when seeing Cooper, are directly pulled from the Cooper fight in Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction: '"COOPER!...Coop? Whoa. What happened to you?" and "I’m gonna get you out of this, Coop. Hang on!"'' **The entire concept of the Cooper fight was inspired by this part of the game. *The way Cooper fights is reminiscent of Doc Ock from Spiderman. *XLR8's line:'' "'Ohhh….I’m gonna feel that one tomorrow."'' ''is a reference to a line of dialogue said in Season 1, Episode 13 of Ben 10 (2005), "Secrets ", while XLR8 was fighting Vilgax. *Rojo's apartment number, B-8, is a reference to her debut episode, "The Alliance", as it was the 8th episode of the Original Series. *Kelly Axel's first name is a reference to the crewmember of the Ben 10 (2016) series, Kelly Turnbull. *"Patient 10" is a reference to the concept of "Patient Zero". *Three of the aliens used in this episode mirror the same set used in Rojo's debut episode, this wasn't done on purpose though. Category:TV-G Category:Episodes Category:ExOS Episodes Category:OS Season 5